I last wrote about the Phantom Comic Strip which appears on the King Features Syndicate about seven years ago. I’m pleased to say that the writer/artist team of Tony DePaul and Mike Manley have done an excellent job in cont
inuing to tell the story of the 21st Phantom; a story started by Lee Falk in 1936.
Besides being one of the longest running comic strips, the Phantom set the standard as to the dress of many of our well-known comic book superheroes (mask, underwear on the outside, etc.). Just as Star Wars is the saga of the Skywalker family, the Phantom is the story of the Walker family and the obligation of every male member of that family since 1536. For the last 481 years, the eldest male member of the Walker family has taken the same oath, upon the death of their father, holding the skull of the pirate who killed the father of the first Phantom: “I swear to devote my life to the destruction of all forms of piracy, greed and cruelty. My sons, and my sons’ sons shall follow me!” This dedication to the “family business” means that no Walker has ever met his grandfather. But it also means that to outsiders the Phantom is immortal, giving him nicknames such as “The Ghost Who Walks” and “The Man Who Cannot Die.”
The comic strip has been around for 81 years, 2 movies, 2 animated cartoons and a couple of video games. For the most part, the storytelling in all mediums has been stellar. Yeah, you can take issue with the obvious racial implications that can be drawn from storylines involving white law enforcement in Black Africa. However, the current creative team has taken great steps to show an Africa that has large modern metropolitan areas as well as jungle with its citizens being led by Black Africans at all levels of Government. The criminals the Phantom fights now are just as likely to be involved in counterfeiting as in human trafficking and terrorism.
If you’d like to learn more about the fascinating history of this first superhero, check out the below video by Midnight’s Edge.